Happy Birthday Luke!

My baby is TWO. Two years old. He is so slender now, it's hard to believe he was once a super chunky ten-pound-baby. I didn't hold any sort of party or get-together for him this year. We kept it low-key since we knew he would mostly want to just play with all his new trucks and cars. He opened all his presents in the morning, some before the girls went to school and the rest when it was just him and me. It was fun to have that one-on-one time with him and all his new toys. That evening, the Familias came over for cake and ice cream and some playtime. He is OBSESSED with any and all vehicles these days. A simple drive in the car is super exciting for him as he points out every single car, truck, police car, tractor, etc. Ben and I got him a big rig and a tractor toy, a few vehicle books, as well as a scooter and a big wheel type toy. He really doesn't care about the scooter and big wheel yet--he just wants to play with his new trucks. He got a lot of different trucks from family and friends too so he is set!

Opening gifts


I love his expression as I'm taking this one--"Mom, I can't get this ribbon off and I want it NOW!!!!!"

He got a super cute "Birthday Boy" T-shirt from my mom and dad. It looks adorable on him! Perfect for the occasion!

My easy-peasy car cake.

The girls happy to "clean off" the frosting on the cake toppers

These cute little boys are just the cutest buddies. They mostly just watch each other play right now but they like to be around each other and I know in another year or so they'll be running around having a ball.

All in all, a great second birthday for my little buddy boy! Some fun stuff about Luke: He loves puzzles, pretzels, milk, fruit, reading, hanging with his sisters (not necessarily interacting with them always, but loving being with them), digging in the sandbox, music, singing "Wheels on the Bus," snuggling, playing dress-up, jumping, and taking walks. I can't imagine life without him!

Autumn

Autumn. By far, my favorite season. I love everything about this time of year: leaves, the warm sun combined with crisp air, cider, pumpkin patches, Halloween decorations, fall colors, cool evenings, open windows, new footie pj's (for the kids, wish I had some for myself though!), pumpkin foods, apple foods, General Conference, soups and stews, tights, Halloween songs and books, looking forward to the many upcoming holidays--I could go on and on. I feel more gratitude in the fall than in any other season for the beauty and blessings in my life.

With that said, we enjoyed a leaf-collecting excursion Saturday morning up in the canyon. We drove around for awhile admiring the rich, gorgeous colors while listening to Conference. At noon, we hopped out of the van and began our exploration. We all had so much fun collecting leaves, throwing rocks into the river, and enjoying nature. The weather was beautiful. We had a picnic surrounded by yellows, oranges, and reds. A most perfect day! How I love my little family.

Freshly Four

This cute girl turned four today--at 9:13 a.m.! She was lucky to have two birthday celebrations: one on Saturday with her friends and one tonight with her family. Saturday's celebration was a Pinkie Pie party. For those of you who are not familiar with little girls' toys, Pinkie Pie is the name of a My Little Pony (which Rachel loves to play with). And...Rachel loves anything pink. Thus, the idea for a Pinkie Pie party was born.

This poster was drawn by a good neighbor who is an amazing artist! Thanks, Kyle! It served both as a decoration for the party and as the board for a round of pin-the-tail-on-Pinkie-Pie.


Rachel had such a good time with all her little friends.

Our craft was making little houses for their ponies (each girl brought a pony to play with at the party). They stickered and colored and glued and had so much fun. It was a great way to use up the mound of shoe boxes sitting in our crawlspace too!

The cake. It's a pony head, in case you were wondering. I thought it turned out alright! The kids loved the sour tape mane.


Rachel got so many cute gifts--a few new ponies and fun little girly toys. She's in heaven playing with them all! Thanks everyone!

Our big gift to her was a scooter. And Emma got one too (and Luke will get one next week for his birthday). They are probably the last kids on the planet without them, so we figured it was time.

Tonight's celebration took place at a little place called Brick Oven. Rachel got her free mini-pizza and lollipop sundae. We enjoyed their yummy garlic bread and root beer and ranch dressing (theirs is the best!!!). Ben's parents came too and we stopped over at the Botany Pond afterwards to feed the greedy ducks and enjoy the beautiful evening. It was such a fun night!


We love Rachel so much. She brings love, sweetness, gentleness, and sunshine into our family. Her favorite things these days are peanut butter on crackers, ponies, dollies, toy puppies, jumping on the trampoline, swinging, reading, coloring, and preschool. Happy birthday sweetheart!

Swagger Wagon

This goes out to all you minivan families out there...

Some Lukey Time

Last night my dear sister-in-law Sue took the girls on a little outing up to Sundance to check out the fall foliage and get some dinner and a treat at the deli. They were gone all evening, so that meant I got to spend some time with just my boys! It was a gorgeous fall night, warm but with a crispness in the air that I can't get enough of! We hung out in the backyard and doted on Luke like he was an only child. It was great. He lapped up all the attention. Kids just need that personal one-on-one time with their parents. Man, is he adorable or what? I took a bajillion pictures of him.

We did some chalking.

Luke loves it when we draw all manner of tractors and trucks. This is tough for me. Good thing Ben can pull through in this parenting area!

Notice we are reading Creating Keepsakes together. I told Ben he'd better catch a photo of his son reading a girly magazine. :)



Oh, how I love my two brown-eyed boys!

Rachel's First Day

Today is the day! Oh, my sweet Rachel had her first day of preschool today. She was beyond excited and has been waiting and waiting for her turn ever since Emma started school two weeks ago. She was ready; I was not so much. She still seems too young to go to school! But though it is hard to send her off, I share in her excitement! Preschool is such a fun time. And she had a wonderful first day with her favorite parts being "eating cookies for snack and playing on the playground with my new friend Sarah."

Isn't this outfit smashing???

Showing off her new school bag Miss Melva made for her


I'm glad Emma is big enough to take pictures now. I can actually be in some shots!


Best wishes for a great year, sweetie!

Kennecott

On Labor Day we took a little field trip to Kennecott to see the copper mine. We knew Luke would go crazy seeing all the trucks and diggers (and he did!). We enjoyed the museum a lot too. It was very hands-on for the kids with lots of good information for everyone.

The mine was HUGE. It really took your breath away.

Luke LOVED watching all of the trucks haul stuff out of the mine. There were so many!


Emma liked looking through the binoculars.

Kind Aunt Sue came with us.

I recommend taking a trip to see Kennecott if you haven't already--it's amazing!